DOJ asks court to reinstate DADT policy

The Obama Department of Justice is filing an emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals pleading with the court to reconsider its order vacating the stay. The Ninth Circuit last week removed a stay against the worldwide injunction awarded in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, effectively halting ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’

“This latest maneuver by the President continues a pattern of doublespeak that all Americans should find troubling. All this does is further confuse the situation for our men and women in uniform,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director, combat veteran and captain in the United States Army Reserve. “Let me be clear – the president is asking the court for the power to continue threatening servicemembers with investigation and discharge, and the right to turn away qualified Americans from military service for no reason other than their sexual orientation. Even if the administration never uses that power, it is still wrong, and the Ninth Circuit was clear that there is no justification for continuing the violation of servicemembers’ constitutional rights. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an offense to American values that should have been gone long ago. It is shameful that a president who has taken credit for opposing the policy is taking extreme measures to keep it on life support.”

“The motion that the government filed today has no other purpose than to request – on an emergency basis – that the military be permitted to investigate and discharge servicemembers, and block new enlistments, based solely on those individuals’ sexuality,” said Dan Woods, partner of White & Case and lead attorney in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States. “The government’s request is inexplicable on any other basis.

It’s almost as if the Department of Justice wants the President to lose the election next year.

When you think about it, DOJ has really been at the forefront of almost every gay-related disaster the Obama administration has had to deal with. And even after DOJ brought on a supposed “gay liaison,” Matt Nosanchuk, the PR debacles continued. Then again, it’s not like Nosanchuk actually does anything. He only came out a few years ago and has no apparent substantive expertise in LGBT civil rights issues or gay politics.

As an aside, Joe and I have been hearing two names bantered about as possible replacements for unofficial White House “gay liaison” Brian Bond: HRC’s Joe Solmonese and DOJ’s Matt Nosanchuk.

Now, we’ve had our differences with Brian, who I’ve known for years – not the least of which is the fact that he doesn’t seem to liase very much. Regardless, no one could question Brian’s substantive background on our issues – he has it. As for Solmonese, he has the background but lacks effectiveness.

Then there’s Nosanchuk, who doesn’t have the substance or the record of success. Which can only mean that he’ll get the job.

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the Executive Editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown; and has worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and as a stringer for the Economist. He is a frequent TV pundit, having appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline, AM Joy & Reliable Sources, among others. John lives in Washington, DC. John's article archive.